What’s New in Angular 18? Key Features, Defer, Control Flow, and Hydration

Angular 18 framework officially released, the first version after merging with Wiz.

Google‑sponsored Angular development team announced version 18 of the TypeScript‑based framework.

The current version includes core libraries also used by Google Search.

Angular 18 Framework Update Overview

Highlights include stable APIs for Material 3 design system components and previously previewed defer view and control‑flow features.

Defer view blocks marked with @defer load after the initial page, reducing load time. Optional @placeholder and @loading blocks can show temporary content, such as placeholders for slow components and loading indicators.

Control flow lets developers use @if, @for, and @switch to conditionally display, hide, or repeat elements, replacing earlier directives like ngIf, ngFor, and ngSwitch. The new directives are better optimized and offer additional advantages.

New Features After Merging with Wiz

Angular is Google’s JavaScript/TypeScript framework; Wiz was an internal framework used for products such as Search, Photos, and Payments, focusing on performance, while Angular handled more complex UIs.

In March, Google announced the gradual merger of the two frameworks.

One result is the event‑dispatch feature, based on the Wiz library jsaction. It captures user clicks on interactive elements before JavaScript handlers are attached, preventing lost clicks and replaying them after the full page loads.

Angular tools and documentation continue to evolve. Documentation now resides on the new site angular.dev, which includes an interactive playground powered by StackBlitz WebContainers and related tutorials.

Hydration reuses existing DOM to load server‑rendered content on the client without flicker. In Angular 18, Material 3 components fully support Hydration, and partial or incremental Hydration is being prototyped using techniques similar to defer view.

The Chrome extension Angular DevTools now includes Hydration visualization.

Conclusion

Gechev notes an “Angular revival”: after a decline following the rise of React‑based frameworks, Angular is experiencing renewed growth, driven by extensive internal use and Google’s sponsorship.